The Coconut Grove Playhouse Receives a Facelift

April 15, 2013

With the help of Richard Heisenbottle, who has been restoring theaters for quite some time, the Coconut Grove Playhouse is about to receive a facelift. Taking the building from an dilapidated building to the elegant theater it deserves to be, will provide residents with a historic playhouse brought up to modern standards. The goal is not to demolish this beautiful property, but restore it.

After decades of looking like a homeless building among the area, Heisenbottle believes he can return this building to glory by turning it into an urban chic building. Some of the additions expected include adding shopping on the ground floor, new paint, an urban image and awnings. He will also restructure the interior to allow for larger productions. However, the audience capacity will be dropped to 700 people.

The plans include making the stage capable of holding larger sets and leaving the bones of the current building intact. Another part of the plan includes adding a smaller theater, called the black box theater with capacity to seat 200. The renovations will add a parking garage and a restaurant to make things convenient for all patrons.

With the new plans for the Coconut Grove Playhouse, couples and families can now enjoy a night out including both dinner and a show. The project isn’t underway just yet, however. Heisenbottle is just waiting on the financing and for the theater to be donated from the state to the county. Once this happened, the blueprints can be finalized and the project will begin.

Reviving an old theater will help to add a touch of class and sophistication to the area, while providing another great entertainment option for residents of Coconut Grove. Look for this project to become a reality very soon, as those involved are hoping to move forward in the coming months with some of the things holding it up.